Reviews and Testimonials from Real Users

We’ve spent over 9 years working with over 91,000 church and ministry leaders to help them reach more of their sheep. Here’s what they have to say about using Flocknote as their text messaging and email tool for their church or ministry.

"Flocknote gives all parishes a consistent communication hub and interface for all ministry and parish activity, while also simplifying communication!"

Timothy Cardinal Dolan

Archbishop of New York

"The single best tool I use every day! Flocknote has been a game changer for our parish. It's increased participation at events, improved communication with parishioners between weekends, and streamlined our messages into one, easy to find location. I don't know where we'd be without it, to be quite honest!"

"Real talk: If @Flocknote were a person, I would marry them. Thanks for making my life and ministry so much easier!!!"

Jessie Johnson

Pax Christi Catholic Community

"I love the ease of use and scheduling options. I had been doing group e-mail and group texts with my private email and cell phone, but there were always problems and often was more hassle than it was worth. Flocknote has simplified both of these tasks and made it look great every time!"

Rob Tierny

St. Mary Catholic Church

"You guys are the best, I gotta say. We've had nothing but great service whenever we needed it and that's very comforting for a guy like me who doesn't do this for a living! Thanks and bless."

Pat Corbitt

Most Holy Redeemer Parish

"It is an easy application to use and what I like the most is the Customer Service. I have 38 years working in IT for the State of Kansas and with all the vendors I worked with your Customer Service is by far the BEST!!! I have never had such a quick turnaround on questions answered or help I have needed!! Definitely a 10 in my book!!!"

Patty Guardian

St. John the Evangelist

"After an exhaustive search, we gladly chose Flocknote. Flocknote is SO easy to use - it's just about foolproof. Truly, anyone can use this and not get lost. Yet at the same time, it's full-featured AND affordable, a combination that is rare. I evaluated 20-25 different texting tools for churches before purchase, and none of them provided the rare combination of ease of use, multiple administrators, affordable pricing, and a large feature set."

"Flocknote works well with the young people in the parish. I love it! We use it to send information and reminders all the time. Flocknote has saved me lots of time and allowed me to bring Jesus to our youth through their favorite method of communication (texting).”

Fr. Adaly Rosado

Church of the Incarnation

"Flocknote is very easy to use, easier than (regular) email. We love the simplicity of the program. The first time we used Flocknote our next meeting attendance increased by 20% and since then our attendance has doubled."

Gregory Shilling

St. Mary of Washingtonville Church

"I don't know what we did before Flocknote!!...Flocknote has turned several non-technical staff members into multi-tasking, email and text sending, super staffers!!! Seriously, we have a few staff who rarely used their computer for much more than checking email. Now they are fully in love with Flocknote and the ability to send messages to their "Flock" (ministries)."

Your Dashboard & Unolytics are two of the most powerful tools at your disposal when communicating with your flock. Watch the video below to see what you can do with each!

Embed the Sign-Up Form on your website

Most people know where to find you on the web (with a little help from Google sometimes), right? We have embed-able sign-up form codes that contain a little snippit of HTML that you can quickly copy and paste right on your site, no computer science degree required! That way people can get connected to your Flocknote page without ever having to leave your website.

To find the embed-able sign-up form code for your Flocknote page:

Click the More menu button (It’s a gray circle labeled with …)

Select Settings

Click the gray ‘Get an embed-able sign-up form code‘ button at the bottom of the pop-up box

Copy and paste the HTML on your site

These sign up forms are also available for each of your individual groups as well. You’ll find a similar ‘Get embed-able sign up form code’ buttons inside of Group Settings (the screenshot below shows your Settings for your church as a whole).

Email your admins

Email your ministry leaders and ask them to add their contacts to their groups and let them know how they can do that. It should go something like this:

Hi Everyone,

Do you have a current contact list for your ministry that includes names, emails and cell phone numbers? We’re pooling all of these together in Flocknote so that we have our members most up-to-date contact info. Your help with this ensures that your own info stays current and that we can reach more of our sheep as a church, so thanks in advance!

As an admin for your ministry in flocknote, you can add your members in individually, or if you drop them in a spreadsheet, you can import them all at once. You can find steps for both of those here. Alternatively, you can email your contact list to the folks at flocknote (help@flocknote.com) and let them know the name of your group and they’ll add them in for us.

Only have email addresses and no cell phone numbers for your members? Or vice versa? No worries, please add them to your group using the info you have. We’d like to have this completed by [enter date here]. If you have any questions at all, just let me know, or feel free to email the team at flocknote directly at help@flocknote.com

Sincerely,

You

Importing your contacts into Flocknote

To import your members to Flocknote, you’ll want to have a spreadsheet that contains their names, email address, and phone numbers. It can either be an excel spreadsheet (.xls or .xlsx) or a .csv file. If you have separate spreadsheets for email addresses and phone numbers, you will want to combine the contact information into one spreadsheet – that way, each member will just have one account in Flocknote that contains both their email address and cell phone number.

Here are a few handy tips for formatting your spreadsheet:

Title your columns so you don’t accidentally mix up the first and last name column

Make sure each column only contains one type of information. Basically, just make sure the email column only contains emails, the phone column only contains phones, etc.

Make sure you only have one line of information per person – in other words, you do not want a person to have their email address on one line and, farther down in the spreadsheet, have a phone number.

Steps to import a spreadsheet of contacts to a Group in flocknote:

Login to flocknote and select the name of a Group from the column on the left

Select the People tab

Select Import a contact list

Click the arrow button to browse to the saved file on your computer and upload it

On the window that appears, assign the correct label to each column (make sure the column that contains emails is labeled as Email and not name or phone, etc.)

Click the Go button

The contacts will import to your Group and you are all set!

Here are a few handy tips when doing an import:

If you can, it’s best to upload your contacts by Group, instead of uploading them to the everyone list and then moving them around, it’s quicker to upload them to a specific Group.

The import feature is smart enough to weed out duplicates. If someone is on your spreadsheet with the same email or phone 3 or 4 times, the system is smart enough to skip over them and make sure they are only added once

Similarly, if you import a contact to a Group that is already on file with another Group, the system won’t duplicate them, it will just pull up their existing record.

Stuck? Email your spreadsheet to us at help@flocknote.com and let us know the Group you are working with and we’ll help you get things imported :)

Converting your address book to a spreadsheet

For most Database and Member Management software tools:

You’ll need to create aReport or perform an Export of the Names, Emails, and phone numbers that are on file. Most programs can export directly to a CSV, but some may have the option to export out to an Excel worksheet as well. The help/support page for the particular type of software you are using might be able to point you in the right direction for exporting your spreadsheet of contacts.

From your Outlook Email Address book:

Select File | Import and Export… from the menu.

Make sure Export to a file is highlighted.

Click Next

Now make sureComma Separated Values (Windows) is selected.

Click Next again.

On the Select Folder to Export from popup, highlight the Contacts folder.

Click Next

Use the Browse… button to specify a location and file name for the exported contacts. Something like OutlookContacts.csv on your Desktop should work fine.

Click Next (once more).

Now click Finish.

A few formatting tips:

To import your members to flocknote, you’ll want to have a spreadsheet that contains their names, email address, and phone numbers. It can either be an excel spreadsheet (.xls or .xlsx) or a .csv file

Here are a few handy tips for formatting your spreadsheet:

Title your columns so you don’t accidentally mix up the first and last name column

Make sure each column only contains one type of information. Basically, just make sure the email column only contains emails, the phone column only contains phones, etc.

Reminder Graphic

Add this graphic to social media, in your bulletin, and wherever else you think people might see it. You can right click on the image and select ‘Download Image’ to save it to your computer.

How to send a note

A Note is what is posted to a Group on Flocknote. Notes are text messages or emails (that can be posted to social media too!)

To send a Note to a group, simply select the group from the left hand colummn, then select theblue email or text icon button from the top left-hand corner underneath your church or organization’s name when you are logged in.

If you don’t see these options, it means you do not have permission to send out new Notes to Groups. To post new Notes to a Group you must either be an admin over at least one Group.

Putting it together: Your church or organization has Groups. Groups have Members who are subscribed to them. Notes are posted to Groups and sent out to Members in the Group according to their Notification Settings.

Set your Text-to-Join keyword and Vanity URL

One of the best parts about Flocknote is that your members can register themselves for your network. Using a vanity URL or a Text-to-Join keyword, your members can join your network, pick the groups they want to hear from, and be on their way (all without needing to create a password)!

VANITY URL (e.g. flocknote.com/YOURCHURCH)

Your church or organization’s “Vanity URL” is a unique link specific to your church or organization through which people can join your Flocknote page. It’s set automatically when your network is created, but you can change it at any time (scroll down for where to find and change your church’s URL).

TEXT-TO-JOIN KEYWORD

A text-to-join (TTJ) keyword is another way for people to join your church or organization on Flocknote. It’s a unique word specific to your church or organization that your parishioner would then text message to the number84576 (in the US).

Canada – 450-999-0505

U.S Spanish Speakers – 202-765-3441

You can also set up text-to-join keywords for specific groups within your church or organization (see below for more information on setting up text-to-join for specific groups).

WHERE TO FIND THEM

To create, edit, or change your vanity URL or text-to-join keyword, click on Settings inside of theMore Menu (only Super Admins will see this option in their More Menu).

Vanity URL

The vanity URL can be found toward the bottom of the ‘Settings’ popup directly under the embed-able sign up form code (No. 1 in the diagram below). To edit it, you actually adjust the Short Name that listed toward the top of the Settings popup directly under your church or organizatio name – delete the current Short Name text in the white box and type in your new desired Short Name, then click “Save.”

To then share it with your parishioners, add the new Short Name text you just created to the end of “flocknote.com/” and you’ll be set to go! (Example: flocknote.com/holycross)

TTJ Keyword

Your TTJ keyword can be set and/or changed in the field marked “TTJ Keyword” (No. 2 in the diagram). (If you are looking to set up a group-specific TTJ keyword, you can do so by adjusting the settings for that specific group. To set up a Text-to-Join keyword for a specific group, first click the specific group from the list of groups in the left-hand column. Then, select the
Group Settings button (it looks like a cog wheel) in the top right corner of the page.)

To create a keyword for the first time, simply click in the white box next to “TTJ Keyword” and begin typing. When finished, click “Save”.

If you’re editing or changing a keyword, simply highlight the current keyword in the same white box, type in your new keyword, then click “Save”.

NOTE: If you receive an error message saying “Oops! This keyword is already taken.” it means that keyword is in use by another church or organization and you’d need to choose a different keyword.

Additional Information on TTJ Keywords

Text-to-join keywords are limited to 16 characters, are not case-sensitive, can only contain letters and numbers, and must have no spaces or punctuation.

Each church or organization on Flocknote is given one TTJ keyword for free. Each additional TTJ keyword is $4/month.

If you wish to move a TTJ keyword from one group to another group, simply: 1) open the group settings for the group it is currently attached to; 2) delete the TTJ keyword from the Group Settings and click “Save”; 3) open the group settings for the new group you want to add the TTJ keyword to; and 4) type the TTJ keyword in the white “TTJ Keyword” box and click “Save.”

DIAGRAM:

Email the Get Started & Training videos to your new admins

The email to your new team of admins should go something like this:

Hi Everyone,

I’m getting our church/ministry set up on Flocknote – which is an easy way for us to text message and email our members. I’ve created a group just for your ministry and set you as an admin. You can setup a login by visiting [your vanity URL here – need help finding this?].
We’re pretty excited about this new tool. You can watch this video for a better understanding of how it will help us reach more of our sheep and a brief overview of how it works. You can also check out their training video here, and some common FAQs – like how is Flocknote different than using my normal email or phone? Here.
Any questions? Feel free to ask away, or you can email them directly at help@flocknote.com

Sincerely,

You

How to add a new group

To create a new Group, select the More button in the top left corner under your church or organization’s name and clickManage Groups. Then, click the blue New Group button within the gray ‘Manage your groups’ pane that pops out.

You can then name the group and adjust the settings. If you aren’t sure what some of the settings control, you can see this help article that discusses each field of the settings in detail.

Please Note: Only Super Admins can add groups. If you are not a Super Admin, you will not see the ‘New Group’ button. You’ll need to contact someone who is a Super Admin and they will be able to set the Group up for you and set you as Group Admin.

How to make someone an Admin

Making someone an admin in Flocknote only takes a few clicks. First it’s important to understand there are 3 different levels of admin privileges within Flocknote. Super Admin, Group Admin, and Note Senders.

Super Admins: Can send notes to and manage all groups, add new groups, add and view members of all groups, and manage the network settings.Group Admins: Can send notes to and manage only the group(s) they are a Group Admin of, view and add members to groups they are an admin of, and manage settings for the groups they are an admin of. They cannot add new groups.Note Senders: Can send notes to only the group(s) they are a Note Sender of. They cannot view any member contact information for any group, nor can they add members to any group.

To make someone a Super Admin:

Login to Flocknote using your Super Admin login, and add to or find the member on the People page in the Everyone group

Click the Super Admin button out to the right of their name so that it highlights